Sandy Hook Promise visits Wilton

Wilton Bulletin

Published
8:00 am EST, Saturday, November 30, 2013

Barbara and Paul Daversa hosted an introduction and fund-raiser for Sandy Hook Promise at their Powder Horn Hill Road earlier this month, where members of the organization mingled with guests talking about the organization and answering questions and spent a few minutes previewing the organization’s new initiative, Parent Together, which was formally launched Nov. 12.

Sandy Hook Promise is one of the many organizations and foundations that arose out of the massacre of 20 children and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School last Dec. 14. Among the representatives in attendance were Nicole Hockley, whose son Dylan, and Bill Sherlach, whose wife, Mary, the school psychologist, were killed that day. Modeling itself after such social change organizations as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Sandy Hook Promise’s goal is twofold, according to the website:

• Prevent the causes of gun violence by educating and empowering parents to make changes in their community that will not only prevent tragedies like Sandy Hook, but also the hundreds of thousands of other acts of gun violence every year in every state.

• Help our community through this tragedy by providing immediate and long-term financial, in-kind and other aid, on request, to families who lost loved ones, those wounded and others in our community impacted by this tragedy.

The Sandy Hook Promise begins:

“Our hearts will always be broken; our spirit will not.

“To truly honor the lives lost by turning our tragedy into a moment of transformation.”

Sandy Hook Promise seeks to engage in conversations and activities with people on all sides of gun-related issues, focusing on the areas of mental wellness, community connectedness and gun safety, seeking to reduce the overall levels of violence across the country. Parent Together calls on parents across America to “put aside their differences and focus on the common bond we all share — the love we have for our children — and use this as a starting point to help find and implement sensible solutions to prevent gun violence and save lives in our communities and country.” It will work with and connect other like-minded individuals and organizations across the country to build momentum for social change and, beginning after the new year, provide proven tools and techniques to help in this endeavor.